World War II

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How did World War II affect him/her? Whether he/she was on the front lines or holding down the home front, there's a story to tell. Select this Topic for help with preserving his/her World War II experiences.

After the turmoil of the Depression years, the world plunged into another crisis, World War II. Would you like to write about his/her interest in World War II?

On September 1, 1939 German armies invaded Poland. Just 2 days afterwards France and Britain declared war on Germany. What did he/she think about this? Did it seem too far away to be important? Did he/she have relatives overseas that he/she feared for?

At that point, did he/she know that these events would bring on World War II or did he/she think that the world had learned its lesson from World War I and would settle the problems peacefully?

Where was he/she and what was he/she doing when he/she heard that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor? What was his/her reaction to the news?

Did the attack influence how he/she thought of Japanese-Americans? Did he/she have any friends who were Japanese? How did it affect his/her relationships with them? What did he/she think about Japanese detention camps in the U.S.?

The U.S. entered the war just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. What did he/she believe the U.S. was fighting for and against?

What were his/her perceptions of FDR's leadership abilities? What qualities make a good leader? Which of these did he/she have? Which did he/she lack? Did he/she think that he/she inspired confidence in people?

On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died and Harry S. Truman became President. What was his/her reaction to the news? What did he/she think of Truman at the time? How did he/she think Truman would "stack up" to Roosevelt?

On August 5th, 1945, American planes dropped the first atomic bomb in history on Hiroshima, Japan. What was the public's reaction to this? Did he/she agree with its use or not?

Did knowing that the U.S. government had this kind of power make him feel safe? Did his/her views of atomic weapons change at all after that day? How and why?

During World War II, the Nazis systematically killed millions of Jews, Gypsies, and other people. How did this make him feel? Did he/she think that something like that could ever happen again? Why or why not?

Did he/she or someone he/she knew spend time in a Nazi concentration camp? Describe the experiences and people. In what ways did it affect him or those that he/she knew?

What was it like to live through those years of massive destruction, to be involved with the war effort, and then finally to see peace?

What did World War II mean to him? To his/her family?

Did he/she serve in the military during all or part of World War II?

Which branch did he/she serve in? Did he/she enlist or was he/she drafted? How did he/she feel about the draft? Was he/she philosophically or politically opposed to serving in the military or was he/she proud to serve his/her country?

Describe basic training. Who was his/her commanding officer? Who were his/her peers? Where and for how long was he/she trained? What did he/she do?

Did he/she have trouble getting along with anyone in his/her unit? Why? What became of it? How did he/she deal with it?

Did he/she have a nickname? What were the memorable nicknames of others?

How did he/she feel about sharing his/her space with others? Did it feel cramped at first? Was it easy to get used to?

What was his/her most vivid memory of this time? Specific people or places? A certain event?

Which weapons was he/she trained to use? How did he/she feel about using weapons? Was he/she comfortable with one in particular?

Was he/she especially skilled at one particular task? Did it become his/her "specialty"?

Did basic training build up or cut down his/her self-confidence? Why or why not? Did he/she feel as if he/she was well-prepared for his/her duties? Did it turn out that he/she was prepared?

Where was he/she stationed after basic training? What were the people and the surrounding area like?

How did he/she keep in touch with his/her friends and family back home during this time? Did he/she save any letters he/she or they might have written?

Did he/she become close friends with any of those he/she fought with? Did they keep in touch? Did he/she save any of their lives? Did they save his?

Which battles did he/she fight in? Describe the time, place, number of participants, and what happened. How did these battles affect the war as a whole? What role did his/her unit play in this battle?

Was he/she injured in any way? Describe what happened. What went through his/her mind when he/she realized he/she was hurt?

If he/she was injured, did he/she heal quickly or not? How did it change him in ways that he/she still noticed years later?

Did he/she ever need to take someone's life? Briefly describe the experience. How did it affect him/her both immediately and in the long term?

Why did he/she leave the service? Honorable discharge? Injury? End of active duty? Describe the circumstances and how he/she felt about them.

Was he/she able to return to "normal functioning"? Was it easy to put it all behind him and get on with his/her life, or did he/she have to struggle? What was the hardest to adjust to once he/she returned?

Was there someone or something that was helpful in getting him through the adjustment of returning home? What was their role? What did they do?

According to the history books, when the U.S. dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japan, the war was over. From his/her personal point of view, was this true? If not, describe what still had to be done.

After all was said and done, what did he/she learn from his/her experiences in the military? Why were these lessons valuable to him? How did they change him and his/her ideas or values?

How would he/she have been different if he/she had never had these experiences?

What sort of memorabilia did he/she save from this time? What did it symbolize to him? What memories and feelings did it bring back?

Did he/she stay home during a portion of World War II?

Why did he/she stay home? Was he/she not called up or was his/her tour of duty shorter than the war? Was he/she too young or too old? Did he/she wish that he/she could have gone?

What was it like at home? How was life different because of the war? What was the biggest sacrifice he/she had to make because of the war?

What did he/she do at home to help the war effort? Did he/she grow a victory garden?

Did anyone he/she knew leave home to fight in the war? How did he/she feel when they left? Was he/she scared? Did he/she think that he/she would never see them again or did he/she feel that they would return? What actually happened?

If anyone he/she knew left home, how did he/she keep in touch with them during this time? Did he/she save any letters he/she wrote or received?

Did any of these people die because of the war? Who? Did he/she know how they died? How did he/she find out about their death?

During the war, many things such as gasoline, food, and rubber were rationed. Did the rationing cause big changes in his/her life? What did he/she need to do without?

Did he/she experience blackouts? What happened during them? Did he/she have blackout curtains?

During the war years, many minorities and women took jobs that they couldn't get previously, and were paid more in general. Did he/she notice these changes? What did he/she think?

When did the war end for him? Was it when the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs on Japan? Or perhaps it was when a loved one came home. Describe that day.

What was it like when his/her friends and family finally came home? Had they changed in ways he/she didn't expect? Had he/she changed in ways they didn't expect? What was hardest to adjust to once they got back? What was easiest?

Did it take a long time for life to return to normal? Did it ever? Was it easy for him to put it all behind him and get on with his/her life or did he/she have to struggle? Why?

What sort of memorabilia did he/she save from this time? What did it symbolize to him? What memories and feelings did it bring back after the war?

Was he/she held in an American detention camp?

How did he/she feel about his/her country? Was he/she angry? Did he/she feel like a scapegoat?

What was a camp like? How were the living conditions? What was the mood of the people there?

Did this have an affect on how he/she felt about himself and other people of his/her ethnicity?

Describe his/her feelings on the day that he/she left the camp. Was he/she overjoyed? Was it a bittersweet day? How was he/she able to re-integrate himself into everyday life?

Many years later, the government tried to repay Japanese families for what they lost. What were his/her thoughts about this?